June 11, 2018

on: June 11, 2018

Gospel: Mt 10:7-13
Go, and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a traveling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick: workers deserve to be compensated. When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.

Reflections
Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons How can Jesus call the poor and the persecuted blessed? Certainly God does not desire us to suffer. Neither does Jesus glorify or romanticize suffering. Suffering is not a virtue. But paradoxically, suffering can evoke virtues. Who has not been moved by the faith and resiliency of a loved one battling a terminal illness? While God does not delight in the suffering on our loved one and, out of love, suffers the pain of one of his children, our Lord delights in the virtues that have been brought forth by suffering. Blessed are those who embrace suffering valiantly and virtuously.